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Remembering Leslie Cacy a year after fatal Royal Gorge Route Railroad accident

Woman died after falling from Royal Gorge Railroad train

By Sarah Matott

The Daily Record

Posted:
05/27/2017 11:37:07 AM MDT

Train conductor Leslie Cacy, 28, shown with her husband Devon Cacy, 27, was killed May 28, 2016, when she fell from the rear of the Royal Gorge scenic railroad train in Cañon City. (Photo courtesy of Dawn Decker)

She was a girl from Texas who took part in rattlesnake races, always wore cowboy boots and always was fearless.

These are some of the ways Devon Cacy, 27, described his wife, Leslie Cacy, 28, who one year ago died after she fell off the Royal Gorge Route Railroad.

Leslie Cacy, who worked as a conductor on the railroad, was at the rear of the train, standing in the door opening, when she fell May 28, 2016.

"She had [just] visited the cabin to say hi ... and said, 'Alright, I'm going to head on back and we'll start heading east' and I said 'OK, I love you and I'll see you soon,'" Devon Cacy said in a previous interview about that day.

He then heard the accident called over the train's radio.

The investigation of the accident, which is being overseen by the U.S. Department of Transportation and conducted by the Federal Railroad Administration, is still open and ongoing.

The Daily Record emailed Tiffany Lindemann with the U.S. DOT to see the status of the investigation and the FRA but have not heard back from either. In December 2016, Lindemann said the investigation remained open.

Devon Cacy, who now lives in Colorado Springs and works with a tiling company, said the last year has been extremely difficult for everyone.

"I had to relearn who I am as a person. I've been with Leslie since I was 18," he said.

Devon and Leslie Cacy met each other in 2008 while he worked on the train as a server and she and her family were on vacation.

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In a statement provided by the Padilla and Cacy families shortly after the incident, "that was the beginning of the next 8 years of her (Leslie's) life."

The two were married in October 2015.

In addition to meeting her future husband on the Royal Gorge train, after moving to Colorado, Cacy became the office manager for the train in July 2015 and shortly enrolled into conductor training.

"Within two months, Leslie was fully certified as a conductor and was excelling in her position," the family's statement said.

She was preparing for her GRE exam for entrance into UCCS's geropsychology master's program after completing her bachelor's degree in psychology. She was working to become a geriatric psychologist with an animal emphasis.

Cacy said he and Leslie's family have remained close but have all struggled in their own ways.

Cacy said he moved to Colorado Springs because he needed a change of scenery — Cañon City had too many memories.

He said he's working a lot and has been active trying to do the things Leslie would have done.

One of those things is helping animals in need of a home, as Leslie Cacy was known as being an animal lover.

Devon Cacy said he and friends helped with an event called the "Furry Scurry," which is hosted by the Dumb Friends League in Denver. He said they raised about $1,500 for homeless pets at the event.

In regards to the accident investigation, Cacy said he hasn't heard anything from investigators, so he assumes it's ongoing. He said he hopes it can be concluded soon, as right now it's something hanging over all their heads.

"It's not necessarily frustrating, I know these things take time and I want them to do their due diligence to figure out how this accident happened," he said.

He said a lot of memories pass by each day, but one thing he hopes people can remember about Leslie is what she left behind.

"To quote a song ... it's not what you leave behind, but it's how did you love," he said.

Devon Cacy said Leslie always smiled at everyone and was incredibly nice to all she met.

"Something no one ever saw was how extremely vulnerable Leslie always was. She just wanted people to always like her," he said.

Devon Cacy said more than 300 people attended her funeral service, and many of those people told stories about how Leslie touched their lives with her kindness and empathy.

"She touched so many people, and it didn't take much," he said. "That's what she did. It doesn't take much to smile."

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